Which of these elements has four total electrons in its outer porbitals?

Full Question:

Which of these elements has four total electrons in its outer p orbitals? A) barium (Ba) B) nitrogen (N) C) silicon (Si) D) sulphur (S)

Answer:

Sulphur has four electrons in its outer p orbitals.

Option D

Explanation:

The electronic configuration of the atoms of elements is very much dependent on the energy levels of orbitals. Orbitals are defined as the regions of an orbit where the probability of finding an electron is maximum. 1st shell has 1 orbital which is s orbital, 2nd shell has 2 orbitals s and p, 3rd shell has 3 orbitals s p and d and so on.

In case of Sulphur, its atomic number is 16. So Sulphur has 16 protons and 16 electrons. As each shell can hold a maximum of 2n² number of electrons, where n is the shell number, 1st shell contains 2 electrons, 2nd shell contains 8 electrons and 3rd shell contains 6 electrons.

The orbital configuration of sulphur is 1S² 2S² 2P⁶ 3S² 3P⁴. Thus we can see it has 4 electrons in its outermost p orbital.